Mechanism for automatically delivering articles in a definite order



Feb. 3, l 925. l

F. H. KOEHLER MEDHANISM FOR AUTOMATIGALLY DELNERING ARTICLES 1N ADEFNT-E ORDER Filed July 21,' 3,920

s Sheets-sheet 1 APenna. 1925. i 1524,829

' F. H. KOHLR' MEGHANSM FOR AUTOMATICALLY DELIVEBING ARIcLEs IN A-DEFINITE ORDER Filed .my 21, 2,920 3 Sheets-snee: 2

Feb. 3. 1925. 1,524,829

F. H. KOEHLER MECHANISM FOR 'AUTOMATICALLY DELIVERING ARII'ICLES IN ADEINITE ORDER Filed July 21. 1920 5 sheets-sheet s Patented Feb. 3,1925.

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1,524,828@ rarest ortica.

FREDERICK H. KOEHLER, Off' CLEVELAND, OEL-120, .ASSG-NOR OFTHREE-SIXTEENTHS TG HENRY KREIKENBOHW, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ANDTHREE-SIXTEENTHS TO HELLMUTH C. HOHMAN'N, ADMINISTRATOR OF .THE ESTATEOF .ADOLPH HOH- IVIANN, DECEASED, OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO. Y

MECHANISM'. FOR AUTOIIATIGALLY DELIVERING, ARTICLES 1N A DEFVENITEORDER.

Application iiled July 21,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that 1, FREDERICK H. Konn- LER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mechanismfor Automatically Delivering Articles in a Definite Order, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to mechanism for delivering articles in adefinite position, and is peculiarly adapted for use with auto matic nutcutting and semi-finishing machines or apparatus of similar character,and has for its general object to provide an automatic mechanism of thisnature which shall be capable of delivering articles in a definiteposition irrespective of their relation when introduced into themachine.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of the aforesaid characterwhich shall utilize the force of gravity for turning those nuts, whoseposition necessitates a reversal thereof to present them in a positionsimilar to those which have passed therethrough.

Another object is to provide automatic means for stopping the machine inthe event of a jam due to articles irregular in size or shape being fedtherethrough. Further and more limited objects of the invention willappear hereinafter and will be realized in and through the combinationof elements embodied in the claims hereof.

In the accompanying drawings where 1 have shown an illustrativeembodiment of my invention but without intent to limit myself thereto,Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a machine constructed in accordance with myinvention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a sectionalview taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sectionalviews taken respectively on the lines 4 4 and 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is adetail sectional view of the clutch releasing mechanism; Fig. 7 is anenlarged detail plan view of a portion of the clutch releasingmechanism, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the pushrod and feeler head.

Describing the various parts by reference characters, 1 indicates a pairof transversely disposed supporting standards which are 1926. Serial No.397,959.

h eld in longitudinal spaced relation by a tie member 2 bolted to therear sides thereof as indicated at Band also by an L-sha'ped bed member4 fastened to the top sides of 'drive shaft 8 is rotatably supported ateach end by the bearing blocks 9, 9 positioned on the standards 1 andintermediate of the standards, the shaft 8 is rotatably supported bybearing blocks 10, 10 rising from the supports 5, 5. The drive shaft 8has mounted thereon in turn a large cam drum 12, a smaller cam drinn 13,a loosely mounted drive pulley 14 and a cam disk 15, the function ofeach of said elements .being more fully set forth hereinafter.

Secured to the L-shaped member 4 adjacent one end thereof, are a pair ofbearing blocks 16, 16 to slidably receive a nonrotatable push rod 17which has a lug 18 projecting therefrom to engage the cam drum 12.Adjacent the other end of the member 4 is positioned a similar pair ofbearing blocks 20, 20 to slidably receive a non-rotatable feeler rod 21which mounts at one end thereof, a roller 22 adapted' to engage the camdisk 15, and at the other end said rod is bifurcat'ed to receive afeeler head 28 which is recessed at the free end to conform with thecrown of the nuts to be positioned. It is j obvious that different sizedfeeler heads may be inserted within the bifurcated end of rod 21 toconform with the size and shape of the nuts to be support one side ofV areceiving block 26,.

said block being supported at its opposite side on a bearing block 27fastened to the member 4. Reciprocation of the receiving block 26 isaccomplished by means of a segmental pinion 28 meshing with a rack 29which is fastened to a side of said block. The segmental pinion 28 isoscillated by the small cam drum 13through `the medium of the semi-rigidlever which is pivoted at one end about a pivot pin 3l which also formsthe pivot point or" the segmental pinion 28 and at the other endsaidlever is provided with a stud 32 which engages the underside of thecam drum 13. As shown in Fig. 3 the receiving block is formed with adepression to embrace three sides of the hexagonal nuts illustrated,although it will be understood that the shape of the depression may varyto contorm with the shape and size of the nuts whichv are to bepositioned.

The clutch releasing mechanism'for automatically stopping the machine inevent ot a jam, comprises. a clutch memberv 33 which is normally heldout of engagement with the drive pulley 14 by a spring 33a interposedtherebetween. Engagement of the clutch 33 is accomplished by a slidablecone 34 which serves to spread `the pivoted clutch dogs 34,

thereby to force said clutch member into engagement with the drivepulley in a manner well understood. The semi-rigid lever is composed oftwo members pivotally fastened together by a bolt 302L which has a ingwasher 30b interposed between one of said members and the nut 30C. Eachmember is provided' with a curved arm 3 d which abut when the lever 30is straightened, to torni a support for one end or' the trip level' 34".At the other end said lever is pivoted to a vertical support 34C risingfrom the tie member 2 and intermediate of the ends thereof, said leveris provided with a detent 34d normally engaging a projection formed oncollar 34e embracing the cone 34 therel=y to hold said clutch intoengagement.

rlfhe discharge mechanism for presenting the nuts with like 'faces inthe same direction, comprises a. reciprocable carriage 35 which isslidably mounted at the top thereot' within an elongated slot 36 in themember 4 and at the bottom7 said carriage is supported by a rail 37fastened to the `brackets 33, 38 which 'depend from the member 4.lvlounted between the upper and lower inembers of the carriage 35 are apair oi' vertical discharge tubes 39 and 40, tube 39 being shown as anordinary discharge tube which permits the nut to fall by gravity in thesame relative position as when clamped between the push rod and teelerrod7 while tube 40 is twisted through 180o to turn the uutV through asimilar angle and hence reverse the relative position while passingtherethrough. While l have specified that tube 39 is straight and tube40 is twisted through 180 it will be understood that either or both ofthese tubes may be twisted to any desired angle to contorni with thedesired position of the assorted articles.

The mechanism for shifting the carriage to bring the proper tube intoalignment with the stationary discharge tube 42, comprises a rectangularframe 43, (Fig. 4) which is provided with trnnnions 44, 44 mounted oneon each side of the enlarged opening in the bed member 4. A yoke isslid-ably and adjustably mounted within the upper end of frame 43 bymeans ot an adjusting screw 47 threaded in the top of said frame andswiveled in the top of said yoke. A pair oi links 43,43 are pivotallyconnected at oneend to a pin 49 disposed transversely ot the feeler rod2l, and at the other end said links are pivotally connected to a crosspin 50 disposed transversely ot yoke 46. At the lower end of the trame43, the yoke 52 is slidably and adjustably mounted in a manner similarto that previously described in connection with yoke 43. cross pin 53disposed transversely of yoke 52 serves to pivotally connect one end oi3a turn-buckle 54 therewith and at the other end said turn-buckle isadjustably and pivotally connected to the carriage by a yok i Anysuitable means may be employed for feeding the nuts to the machine suchas the hopper which rotatably supports a suitable agitator (not shown)and at its lower end7 said hopper is connected with a delivery c-hute 62which is supported at its lowerend by the guide bracket 25 and a plate63 fastened io the Atop of bearing blocks i6, and 20.

ln operation, the unassorted nuts are placed in the hopper 60 and areted by a suitable agitator (notvshown) down the'delivery chute 62 in asingle vertical column to the receiving vblock 26. The shaft 8 isrotated any suitable source of power ccnnected to the driving pulley i4,which rotation. causes the cam drum l2 to slide the push rod l? and thenut and the receiving` block 'forwardly to engage with the iieeler head23. Assuming that the nut is so positioned that the flat side thereoffaces the eeler head as shown in igs. 5 and 8, the operation will be asfollows: The small cam drum i3 will operate the segmental pinion 28 toslide the receiving block torward with the push rod and nut. rlhe fiatside et the nut will abut the outer edges ot the recessed 'portion otthe feeler bean and torce the teeler rod 2i rearwardly until the roller22 is in the proximity ot the cam disk l5. The rearward movement et rod2l will rock the lower end ot the frame 43 forwardly by means oi thelink connections 43, 43 which are pivotally connected to the'frame at apoint below the pivotal axis thereof. rPhe rearward movement of theframe serves to draw the carriage rearwardly until the discharge tube351l is in alignment with the nut and the stationary tube 42. hieanwhilethe cam drum 13 has rotated a distance sulicient to withdraw thereceiving block rearwardly and permit the nut to drop by gravity throughtubes 39 and l2 to the machine to which they Yare to be delivered.Further rotation of shaft and the parts mounted thereon serves to returnthe machine to its original position.

Assuming that the next nut is delivered on the receiving block with thecrown thereot facing the` recessed portion of the teeler head theoperation will be as ollows: The cam drum will feed the. push rod 17 andnut forwardly causing the crown ot the nut to enter the recess in theJFeeder head 23. The receiving block will also move forward aspreviously described and support the nut. It is obvious that the feelerrod will not be moved forwardly as great a distante as in the previousinstance since a part of the push rod stroke is absorbed by the crown ofthe nut entering the recessed head 2B. Hence the shortened stroke of theeeler rod will only rock the frame 43 rearwardly a distance sufficientto position the discharge tube in alignment with the nut and stationarytube 42. The receiving ble-cl; is now v-Jithdrawn rearwardly aspreviously described and the nut falls through the twisted tube bygravity and is rotated 1800 to a position similar to the preceding nut,

Should the nuts become jammed between the feeler head and receivingblock because ot irregularities in shape or size, the semirigid lever 30will bend at the pivoted joint 30 and open the curved arms 30 and thusdrop the tree end of the trip lever 34h which disengages the detent 34dand allows the spring 83a to disengage the clutch. and stop the machine.After the jam has been cleared the trip lever may be reset andopera-tion of the machine continued.

It is obvious that the tubes 39 and 40 may be reversed when it isdesired to reverse the delivery of the discharged nuts and that themachine is adjustable for various sized and shaped nuts.

Having thus what I claim is:

l. In mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined position, thecombination with a d livery chute through which the articles passirrespective of any predetermined position, ot a discharge guide sotermed as to change the position of the ar- Iricles passingtherethrough, a second guide so formed as to discharge the articles in adifferent position from those entering said iirst mentioned guide andmeans interposed betwen said chute and said guides 'for delivering thearticles to the proper discharge guide.

2. ln mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined position, thecombination with a delivery chute through which the articles passirrespective of any predetermined position, of a discharge guide soformed as to reverse the position of the artidescribed' my invention,

cles passing therethrough, a second guide so formed as to discharge thearticles in the same relative position as received therein, and meansinterposed between said chute and said guides for delivering thearticles to the proper discharge guide, c

3. In mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined position, thecombination with a delivery chute through which the articles passirrespective of any predetermined position, of a discharge guide soformed as to change the position of the articles passing therethrough, asec-ond guide so formed as to discharge the articles in the samerelative position as received therein, and means 'for shifting saidguides whereby the proper guide will be positioned-in operative relationto said articles.

4. ln mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined posit-ion,the combination with means 'for delivering the articles irrespective ofany predetermined position, of a discharge guide so formed as to changehe position of the articles passing therethrough, a second guide soformed as to discharge the articles in the same relative position asreceived therein, mechanism slidably interposed between said deliverymeans and said guides for receiving the article-s, means dependent uponthe movement of said receiving mechanism for shifting said guides toposition each of said articles in operative relation to the properguide. 5. ln. mechanism for delivering articles in a predeterminedposition, the combination with adelivery chute through which thearticles pass irrespective of any-prede` tei-mined position, ot' adischarge guide so formed as to reverse the position of the articlespassing therethrough, a second guide so formed as to discharge thearticles in the same relative position as received therein, said guidesbeing so positioned as to utilize the 'force of gravity'for conveyingthe a cles therethrough and means for delivering each of said articlesto its proper guide.

6. ln mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined position, thecombination with means for deliveringl articles irrespective of anypredetermined position, ot mechanism for receiving said articles, andmeans dependent upon the gravity of the articles for discharging saidarticles with predetermined faces in the same relative position.

7. In mechanism for delivering articles in a. predetern'iined position,the combination with a delivery chute through which the articles passirrespective of any predetermined position, of a discharge guide soformed as to reverse the position ot the articles passing therethrough,a second guide so formed as to discharge the articles in the samerelative position as received therein, mechanism interposed betvveensaid chute and said guides for receiving said articles and means forshift ing said receiving mechanism and said guides toward and from eachother to divert said articles through the proper guide.

8. ln mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined position, thecombination with a delivery chute through Which the articles passirrespective of any predetermined position, of a supporting member forreceiving the articles, means for sliding said articles along saidsupporting member, a discharge guide so formed as to reverse theposition of the articles passing therethrough, a second guide so 'formedas to discharge the articlesin the same relative position as receivedtherein, and means for moving said slidinomeans and said guides todivert .said articles through the proper guides.

9. In mechanism for delivering articles in a predetermined position, theccmbination .vith a delivery chute hroug'h which the articlespass'irrespective of any pre determined position, ot a siviportinginemher for receiving the artici y ieans for sliding said articles alongsai-.d si'ipporting member, a. discharge guide so 'termed as to reversethe position oi the articles passing therethrough, a second guide sotermed as to discharge the articles in the same relative position esreceived therein, means for moving said sliding means, and connectionshetiveen said sliding means and said guides miereby the movement of lthelatter will be dependent upon the former to divert said articles throughthe proper guides.

l0. ln mechanism for delivering articles in` a predetermined position,the combination With a delivery chute through which the articles passirrespective of any predetermined position, ot means for receiving thearticles Vfrom said chute, a push rod for moving'said articles alongsaid receiving means, a t'eeler head disposed in longitudinal alignmentwith said push rod and against which the articles are adapted toContact, means for accurately positioning said articles against saidiieeler head, and means Jfor rereiving the articles from said teelerhead and .arranging them with predetermined 'faces' in the same relativeposition.

il. In mechanism for delivering articles in` a predetermined position,the combination with a delivery chute through which the articles passirrespective of any predetermais@ mined position, of a supporting memberslidably mounted beneath said chute and adapted to receive ,each ot thearticles from said chute, a push rod for moving said articles along saidsupporting member, a eeler head against which the articles are adaptedto contact, and means dependent upon the movement of said 'feels-r headfor receiving the articlesanfill arranging them with preA determinedfaces in the same relative position.

l2. In mechanism for delivering articles in predetermined position, thecombination `with a` .delivery chute through which the articles passirrespective ot any prede termined position., ot' a discharge guide soformed to change the position of the articles passing therethrough, asecond guide so formed as to `dis-:charge the articles in a differentposition fromthose entering said first mentioned guide, means forshifting said guides whereby the proper guide Will be positioned inoperative relation to said articles, and` means for autoi'naticallystopping said mechanism dependent upon the presentation of other thanuniform articles thereto.

13. ln mechanism for delivering articles in a predetern'iined position,the combina` lion with means for delivering rarticles irrespective otany predetermined position,

of mechanism for receiving said articles, means for discharging saidarticles with predetermined faces in the same relative position, andmeans for automatically stopping the machine dependent upon thepresentation loi other than uniform articles thereto.

lei. ln mechanism for delivering articles in predetermined position, thecomliination with means for delivering articles irrespective oii anypredetermined position. ot' mechanism for receiving `each ot saidarticles separately, means dependent upon the gravity of the articlesfor dischaiging` said articles with predetermined t'aces in the samerelative position, and clutch releasing means dependent upon theoperation olI .s receiving mechanism whereby the machine is renderedinoperative upony the pref-ientaA tion of other than uniform articles tosaid receiving mechanism.

In testimony whereof, t hereunto aliix my sikfrnature.l

FREDERICK H. KOE Hlillt.

